SNOW HILL — There has been a buzz around Greene County recently about the county’s financial and management matters by a concerned group of citizens.

These residents are a small group of fewer than 10 people, but they’ve raised the level of awareness about county issues as they haven’t held back from voicing their concerns at public meetings.

Part of the group got its start when the town of Snow Hill was having financial woes. They learned then how to request public records. While not a formal club, so to speak, they recently were joined by county residents.

Carolyn Newcomb of Snow Hill said the issues of concern come up in conversation informally.

“We don’t sit around and chit-chat every night,” Newcomb said, “but if there are issues, there are people we can call and say, ‘Did you know?’ ”

Jody Tyson of Arba said, “It’s a diverse group and has a common interest in ensuring that Snow Hill and Greene County are just the best that they can be.”

Some of them did meet once in June to delve into the then-proposed county budget.

At that meeting held at Newcomb’s house, County Commissioner Jack Edmondson offered to bring the proposed budget and answer questions after residents expressed dismay over a proposed 5.4 percent property tax increase.

The group there consisted of Newcomb, Snow Hill Commissioner Becki Scarborough, Tom O’Brien and Laura Exum of Snow Hill, Chuck and Kim Stokes of Scuffleton and Tyson.

The 289-page budget, online as of mid-September, was only available then for viewing at the county office and library, so this meeting provided an opportunity for them to review the budget together while having their questions addressed by one of the commissioners.

“Everybody had a lot of unanswered questions about some prospective expenditures and some prospective cuts,” Tyson said.

Budget workshops were held in the latter part of June and the budget was revised in early July.

“We jokingly say it was held in the closet,” Exum said, as commissioners held a meeting in the small conference room.

“The people that got wind of (the meeting) were sitting in the hall trying to have a voice,” she said. “It gave the appearance of secrecy.”

The session with Edmondson helped the group understand the budget a little better and started a quest for more knowledge through public document requests.

There were three glaring issues that spurred that quest: the proposed property tax increase, a shortage of more than $500,000 in the budget and the property revaluation results which have not been released yet.

“The scary part was when (there was a) half-million dollar shortfall,” Newcomb said, “and we’re just going to make it up on the backs of the landowners.”

Page 2 of 2 - The budget shortage was pseudo-remedied by hoped-for funding: the housing of federal inmates for which the county is applying this week and a quarter-cent sales tax which will be voted on in November.

County Manager Don Davenport said Tuesday he was told the county is eligible to house federal inmates, but there are no slots currently available.

When asked what the holdup was in submitting the application — as the budget was passed in late June — Davenport said, “There was no holdup.”

The county’s response to the shortage was partly blamed on Snow Hill funding its own police department, rather than paying the county for sheriff patrol. However, the county cut two deputy positions in the final budget.

Scarborough said she tried to set up a meeting with the county to discuss an arrangement that would benefit both the town and county, but the county cancelled the meeting and would not reschedule.

“Our question simply was,” Tyson said, “if that revenue was so integral, was so important, to the county’s financial health and budget, what steps were taken from the county and its prospective management to try to safeguard that relationship?”

Other concerns were raised when Susan Blizzard, a Hookerton Emergency Medical Services volunteer, repeatedly approached the commissioners about emergency vehicles in disrepair and other safety issues.

Added to these concerns were Davenport’s salary over-payment, the elimination of Assistant County Manager/Economic Developer Chris Roberson’s position and re-assigning the position to Beyond Tobacco Director Misty Chase, who holds an associate degree and no experience in recruiting industry.

Jerry Greene, former owner of The Standard Laconic newspaper, said he believes the county’s low revenue is caused by a lack of economic development planning on the part of elected officials.

In September, Exum submitted a public comment in writing to the commissioners requesting answers residents say they haven’t received yet about their financial concerns.

At the county’s Oct. 1 meeting, Davenport provided copies of financial lists for the public without comment. The lists included fiscal-year revenues, expenses which were cut from the proposed budget and estimated revenues.

“Yes, it answered my question on whether the budget is balanced,” Exum said. “No, it’s not balanced in an appropriate way.”

Exum said she plans to address Davenport’s response at the next county meeting Oct. 15.